Billionaire’s Pampered Wife

“Mom, you cooked so much by yourself!” Stella exclaimed and said, “You must have been working nonstop since you sent lunch over to me.”

“This is a special day and I am happy to be busy too. Actually, it’s not that hard to make all these. The cold appetizers aren’t difficult to make. There are 68 Dark Shadow members in total, right?” Suzi asked.

“Yes, they are the elite soldiers from the Special Forces and Anthony used to take care of them personally. He became the next Chief of the Special Forces after Jasper left the military base. Everyone from the Dark Shadow followed Jasper and left the military base together at that time,” Stella said as she cut the cherry tomatoes that had been soaked in the water.

“What? All of them?” Suzi had never been interested in military affairs, so she did not know much about it.

“They all left around that time. However, Anthony is his good friend and he needs many men when he became the new Chief. Therefore, a hundred Dark Shadow members went back to follow Anthony. Anthony had slowly added more and more people into the Dark Shadow over the past two years. Jasper has kept 68 of them with him, including Elvis,” Stella explained.

“Yes, I’ve asked Elvis about it before. He said that there are 68 members in total. I have prepared five tables, one table could accommodate fifteen people,” Suzi said.

“Thank you, Mom. Thank you for cooking so much food for all of us. It’s a pity that the chef whom we have hired the last time has returned to his hometown to celebrate the holiday and it is not safe for us to go out and eat either. I’m sorry to trouble you, Mom,” Stella apologized.

“Silly child, it may be difficult, but I am happy. These people are all my children. It does not matter if I have to work a little harder,” Suzi said with a smile.

“Yeah, but wouldn’t it take a lot of time to serve all the food together?” She was a little worried.

“Not to worry. I have taken out the massive food warmers that your father had bought in the past. We’ve never used them before, and I don’t even know why he bought them,” Suzi pointed at the food warmers and said.

Only then did Stella realize that five rectangular boxes had appeared in the kitchen. They looked like bigger versions of a pressure cooker.

She opened the five boxes and took a peek at each of them.

There were pork sausages in the first warmer.

There were freshly-baked trouts in the second warmer.

The third warmer was filled with creamy mashed potatoes.

There was caramelized broccoli with garlic in the fourth warmer.

And last but not least, the fifth warmer was filled with aromatic tomato soup.

“Mom, I can’t believe that you have made all these. When did you start making them?” Stella asked in surprise.

“I started to make some of them at noon. I’ve already whipped up some cold salads as appetizers. Once they start digging into the salads, I’ll switch on the warmers and serve the dishes for each table. It won’t take long because they are all basically already cooked,” Suzi explained.

Stella’s heart was full.

“Mom, you are really amazing. I did not expect the meal to be so sumptuous,” Stella sighed.

“I have already prepared some vegetarian dishes in case there are those with dietary restrictions. Just let me know beforehand so that I could prepare them in advance instead of having them wait.”

“Mom, I have an idea. Why don’t we just serve everything together? That way, you wouldn’t have to tire yourself much and everyone could also enjoy the dinner together,” Stella suggested.

“That’s a good idea. I also noticed that you’ve caught a lot of fish today. I was thinking of making them into fish nuggets and deep-frying them. That way, everyone would have something to snack if they feel peckish. Should we get some crackers and cheese too? I think that the supermarket is still open. I could drop by and get more food too.”

“I’ll clean the fish and cut them into pieces. I’ll prepare enough for each table. This makes it fair for everyone.”

“Great! I’ll head out first then. I have to go before the supermarket closes lest our plan goes in vain,” Suzi took off her apron quickly.

“Mom, please be careful,” Stella said.

“Okay,” Suzi went out hurriedly.

Stella had just finished cleaning all the fish and she began slicing them into bite pieces.

Because there were too many pieces, she could only fry them batch by batch.

She had made deep-fry batter before, so this was an easy task for her. All she needed were cornstarch, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, and water. First, she measured the dry ingredients accurately and combined them in a mixing bowl.

After that, she took out another mixing bowl and added milk and water into it. She gave it a stir so that the liquid would blend well.

Next, she slowly stirred the milk mixture into the dry ingredients until the batter became smooth and creamy.

She sprinkled some cayenne pepper into the batter so that the fish nuggets would be a little spicy.

Finally, she dipped the bite-sized fish pieces into the batter and placed them into the boiling oil in the pan. Soon, the fish nuggets were ready to be served. Stella realized that there was still time, so she decided to deep-fry some fries as well.

At this moment, Elvis came into the kitchen and said, “Mrs. Milton, I’ve arranged for three people to stand guard. The guards are still in position, including myself. There are 65 soldiers in total. If you are too busy, perhaps I could lend you some help.”

“It’s okay. I can handle it,” Stella looked at the time. It was already 5 p. m. “What time did you tell them to come for dinner?”

“Around 5. 30 p. m. If dinner is not ready by then, I could always ask them to wait. It’s alright.”

“That’s enough time. Now, help me serve the cold appetizers. There are five tables in total, and fifteen people could sit at one table,” Stella said.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Elvis scratched his head and said, “I don’t see any tables outside.”

“Oh, right, we haven’t set up the tables. The tables and chairs are all in the storage room. There are more than a dozen banquet tables, which are quite big,” Stella recalled.

These were bought when Jasper’s father passed away.

“But, will there be enough space outside?” Elvis asked worriedly.

“It should be enough. You just need to move the sofa to the other side and lean it against the wall, then there will be enough space.”

“Okay, I will get two soldiers to do it,” Elvis then left the kitchen.

Stella soon heard the sound of a car approaching the manor, and she too left the kitchen.

Suzi had returned. She smiled and asked Elvis, “Young man, please help me take the things out of the car.

Elvis walked to the trunk and looked at the food in there. He sighed and said, “Madam Shine, why does it look as though you had brought the whole supermarket back?”

“I just followed Stella’s instructions. We will be having quite a feast tonight, and I even bought some crackers, crisps, and cheese! There are different flavors of ice creams too,” Suzi smiled as she said. Then, she took the things out from the trunk and handed them to Elvis.

“I see. I have not had such a good meal in a long time. My tummy is already grumbling!” He then brought the dishes into the kitchen happily.

Stella also helped to carry the rest of the groceries into the kitchen.

Elvis was responsible for setting up the tables. He placed a tablecloth on each table and served the dishes accordingly.

Apart from the cold appetizers and the five dishes that had been prepared by Suzi earlier, there was also newly-added finger food such as buffalo wings, nachos, and onion rings.

Stella and Suzi were busy plating the dishes one by one.

It did not take much time as they were both extremely skilled.

At this moment, they heard the orderly footsteps of soldiers approaching, and it reminded them of the time when Jasper used to come home after spending the whole day in the military base. Their hearts tightened and they quickly ran out to take a look.